TEX Trainers

SAN ANTONIO Team

Karen Peiser

ESL Coordinator

Karen is the volunteer ESL Coordinator at Literacy Connexus and the Director of ESL Ministry at Southland Baptist Church in San Angelo. There she teaches ESL classes and tutors students to get their Citizenship. Karen has 25 years of ESL teaching under her belt and has 3 of her own workshops. Before she taught ESL she was a Missionary in New York City and studied French in Paris, France in 1961. In 2010 Karen was awarded volunteer of the year by Literacy Texas

HOUSTON Team

Connie Anthony

Connie and her husband Jay have lived in Conroe since 2003 and just recently purchased a multi-generational home to assist her aging parents as well as continue raising two of their nine grandchildren. Connie took early retirement 11 years ago from 34 years in Retail Management and Development. She knew that God had a new direction for her energy and it did not take long before it was obvious where that direction would lead. Stories of her Great Grandparents Missional work in border towns inspired her to learn more about helping non-English speakers and their families. Through a retired Missionary in her town, Connie was introduced to Literacy ConneXus, and immediately she had a vision, training, and an incredible team of Christ-followers full of encouragement. Ten years, twenty-five volunteers, and over eight hundred students later, Literacy First Conroe has started a satellite school in a neighboring city, consulted and trained scores of new nonprofit faith-based and community volunteers. Grateful for the opportunities and people that have crossed her paths, Connie can only look forward. This is a work that God began before the beginning of time and a Connie is humbled to be allowed to walk this road.

Kathleen Yarborough

Kathleen Yarborough is the Director of Community Ministries at West University Baptist and Crosspoint Church in Houston, TX. She leads the ESL ministry and coordinates the local mission efforts. Kathleen began teaching ESL in 2001 and has served as a volunteer teacher and program director and full time staff. She has also taught English in China for several summer programs with high school students. Kathleen is a trainer with Literacy ConneXus which assists faith based programs in developing ESL and literacy programs and training teachers. She is married to her husband Steve who both cooks AND cleans and has a basset hound baby whose name she cannot tell you or she would have to reset all her passwords…

Angela Garcia

Angela is an apprentice trainer for Literacy Connexus in the Houston area. She has been with Literacy Connexus for 2 years. Angela has been an ESL teacher for the past 7 years in public schools. She is currently teaching high school ESOL, English Language Development, and Reading. She graduated with a Masters in TESOL from University of Saint Thomas in 2019. She is currently working on a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction. Angela has two adult children. Her daughter attends the University of Houston and her son attends Maine Maritime Academy so she has been blessed to travel to Maine. They enjoy camping and doing things together as a family.

DALLAS-FORT WORTH Team

Cyndy Kilpatrick, Ph.D.

Cindy is a faculty member in the Department of Linguistics and TESOL at The University of Texas at Arlington, where she also directs the English Language Institute. She presents regularly about teacher training, language teaching, language learning, and linguistics at local, national, and international venues. She is passionate about language, teaching, travel, and her Kiddo Alex. Cindy is a TEX trainer in the DFW metro area and has been volunteering with Literacy ConneXus since 2015.

Matthew Johnston

Matthew Johnston has been an ESOL Instructional Specialist at Dallas College since 2016. One of his favorite recent projects is developing a listening/speaking class that integrates leadership training and Project Based Learning, which culminates in student-created leadership portfolios and a service project. Another fun project in the midst of a challenging pandemic is a monthly ‘news’ video for his ESOL department. Many years ago, while studying for a Masters in Global Leadership from Dallas Baptist University, he was an intern at Literacy ConneXus, and he is so glad to be back. Matthew is excited to be an apprentice trainer and help churches serve their communities through ESL.

Janice Long

Janice is the Director of the ESL Ministry at Cross City Church in Euless, TX. She teaches ESL classes for adults and tutors children of immigrants. Janice is a TEX Trainer Assistant for Literacy ConneXus and enjoys interacting with the students attending TEX training workshops. She holds a degree in Computer Science and is certified in Childhood and Weekday Education. She lived in Rome, Italy for two years and enjoys studying languages and cultures. Janice and her husband, Tom, have three adult children.

Katie Welch, Ph.D.

An active contributor in the ESL community, Dr. Katie Welch not only has taught in faith-based ESL settings as a volunteer, but also professionally trains ESL teachers for both adult and K-12 classrooms. Katie currently serves on the Executive Board of TexTESOLV, an affiliate of TESOL International that serves the Dallas-Fort Worth region of Texas. She led the Board of Directors as conference chair of the 2018 state ESL conference and has presented at numerous conferences nationwide.

Olga Gilbert

Olga is a native Russian speaker who immigrated to the US from Latvia. She and her husband had served with the International Mission Board in Moscow, Russia and Toronto, Canada where Olga was actively involved in ESL ministry. Upon their return to Texas, Olga worked as an adjunct ESOL instructor at the Dallas College and is currently an ESOL teacher at Skyline High School in Dallas. Olga earned a Master of Divinity from Criswell College and MATESOL from Biola University. She has been an apprentice trainer with Literacy ConneXus for two years. Olga and Mark live in Forney, Texas with their five children.